Why are there so many foxes?
by BritishLuxray
Summary: It's been two weeks since the start of the Killing Field Trip, and not a single person has died! Monokuma is bored, so he turns everyone into animals! Why? Because he can, and traditional motives are boring.
1. Chapter 1

_I know this topic has probably been done before, but I wanted to have a go writing it myself. Having recently played the game myself, I've tried to keep the characters as, well, in-character as possible. This means lots of pauses, exclamations, dialogue heavy lines, Hajime giving annoyingly short responses (seriously, outside trials he barely talks?), and as much as it hurt, no sassy Hajime or anything overly romantic. Probably. Maybe. Anyway, enjoy!_

Hajime Hinata felt strange. There was no other word for it. He had awoken at the Monokuma announcement that morning, gone to the restaurant for breakfast and returned to his cottage. He had gone for a walk, and chatted with Komaeda and Gundam. Absolutely nothing of importance had happened at all. And yet the feeling lingered.

 _I'm probably just being paranoid._

After all, they were supposedly stuck in a Killing game. Perhaps it wasn't so much that something had happened, than it was nothing at all had happened, that caused his stomach to roil in unrest. Really, what made him feel so sick was

 _Monokuma has been too quiet._

The thought popped into his brain uninvited. He tried to dismiss it, but couldn't. It was true. The group hadn't seen much of Monokuma at all since the reveal of the last motive. It had been in the form of an arcade machine, and although he still wasn't sure exactly what happened, he knew that it had caused tensions between Kuzuryuu and the rest of the group.

 _Particularly Mahiru._ I noted. He never stopped glaring at her, and she had started sticking close to Akane and the rest of the boys as much as possible. But that didn't mean he had killed anyone. Just made things awkward.

 _Maybe Monokuma's sulking? After all, it's been two weeks and not even a single person has killed anyone…_

His train of thought was interrupted by the evening Monokuma announcement. Yawning, he crawled into bed.

 _I'm just overthinking things…._

Hajime woke with a start. Glancing at his window, soft morning sunlight filtered through, much too early for 7:00am.

 _Huh, I must've woken early…I don't think I'll bother getting up so early. It's not like there's anything to do…_

And not paying any attention to the reason he awoke in the first place, Hajime Hinata went back to sleep.

 _*Ding Dong Bing Bong* Goooood morning everyone! It's another tropical day in paradise!_

As the alarm droned in the background Hajime came to, his mind fuzzy.

 _Another day, huh? Wonder if that crazy bear'll try to interfere again…_

Hajime went to sit up, and found that to be very difficult.

 _What?_

Opening his eyes, he rolled to his side, propping himself up on his arms. He felt something thick and soft around his neck and stopped in confusion.

 _A scarf? Why would I…?_

And then the world stopped when he looked down at his hands. Or, apparently, paws.

"W-What is this?!"

Frozen in shock, it took several second before he tried to leap up, only to become tangled in the sheets, and fall to the ground.

"Oof!"

Legs splayed in all directions, one very confused and now very furry Hajime Hajime lay flat on the floor of his cottage. After several minutes of figuring out how to walk, he moved himself to the bathroom. Hopping up on his hind legs, he was able to look himself in the mirror. Thick, unruly brown-grey fur spilled from the top of his head around his neck like a lion's mane, ending in front of his shoulders. His muzzle and body were of a light stone grey and the fur lay short and flat, except for his short, sharp ears and fluffy tail, where it became thicker. His eyes, he noted, remained the same green colour, and unfortunately, he noticed with some remorse, his ahoge remained present.

 _I-I'm a dog?! No, I mean I'm pretty big and I've got a mane so I'm probably a wolf, Gundam said something about that yesterday and-_

 _WHY AM I A WOLF?_

Hajime sat there for another few minutes in disbelief before trying to settle on a course of action.

"Has this happened- to everyone?"

If it had, he mused, then everyone was in trouble. If it hadn't well… It was going to be trouble for just him. If they believed him when he claimed who he was, anyway.

 _Waiting around isn't going to solve anything, I suppose._

Making his way to a door, Hajime encountered his first problem. The doorknob was round. Looking around the room, his eyes alighted on the window beside it. Lifting the shutter, he raised it as high as possible, before wriggling his way out.

Once outside, he fell yet again in a rather unagile manner. Dragging himself upright, Hajime looked around and with a sinking feeling found the area deserted. Deciding there was no point in hiding his condition, he headed to the restaurant with cautious, measured steps, and tried his best not to fall over. It was then Hajime encountered his second problem. Stairs. Glaring at them with open hostility, he decided to try the small stairs in front of the foyer first, before attempting to go up into the restaurant. Carefully making his way up, he pushed open the doors to the foyer with his shoulder and stepped inside. Waiting inside, however, he was met with a strange sight. On the left sat a very large cat with golden fur. It was…chubby to say the least. It had no mane, and looked perhaps like a mountain lion. Despite its chubbiness, it sat next to the counter with an air that oozed narcissism and wealth. A small pair of glasses lay perched on its nose.

 _Could that be… Byakuya?_

On the right sat a small lavender cat perched atop a tabletop video game machine. It wore a grey and pink jacket, with a hood with pointed ears. It was very familiar. The cat was engrossed in the video game, batting the joystick left and right and tapping buttons.

 _How does that even work? A cat playing video games… now I've seen it all._

But wait, that jacket was very familiar, and video games? It couldn't be…

"Chiaki?" Hajime felt the question slip before he could stop himself. At this, the golden puma noticed him for the first time. The little lavender cat didn't budge at all.

"And who might you be? No, wait, don't answer that. You're that boy Hajime Hinata, are you not? At least your hairstyle is iconic. Else you commoners all look the same. Anyway, you're late. Explain yourself."

 _That's…definitely Byakuya._

"Errr… you're Byakuya, right? I was kind of distracted." Hajime admitted.

"Distracted, hmm? I hope it was important, because the others were here hours ago!"

"H-Hours?"

"Yes. Now what were you doing during that time?"

"I was sleeping…"

"Sleeping?! Were you not woken early this morning by this weird transformation?!"

 _Now that I think about it… Was that why I woke up? I just figured I had had a dream or something and went back to sleep but if this is why…_

"I must've slept through it."

"Slept through it? I see." At this, the puma… _Byakuya_ huffed. "Well you're here now at least. At least you managed to escape your cottage on your own. We had to break some of the other's out."

"Break them out? Wait, then why didn't someone wake me up?"

Byakuya gazed at me like I was a simpleton. "Tell me, Hajime, how would you have reacted if a specimen such as myself was staring through your window, or even breaking it? Would you have remained calm?"

"I-I suppose not…"

"Now then, everyone else should be waiting upstairs. I suggest you go meet them."

"What about you Byakuya? Aren't you coming too?"

"M-Me?! I'll be along shortly. No need to wait for me."

Hajime was taken aback by the cat's rushed response, and froze in confusion for a moment, until the answer drifted into his mind.

 _Is he…having trouble with the stairs?_

Hajime decided to leaving sleeping dogs lie and padded over to where Chiaki was playing what looked to be an old version of space invaders. It wasn't until Hajime stood directly behind her though, that he realised how small she was. Hajime had stood at a similar height to Byakuya, but found the small purple cat maybe half the size of his head. Did that mean she was very small? Or that he was very big?

Chiaki's ship was hit by a missile and exploded into hundreds of tiny pixels, and a flashing red 'Game Over' screen filled the game space. Hajime jumped at the chance.

"Chiaki? Hey, Chiaki!"

Slowly, the cat twisted until it was looking behind and up into Hajime's face. It froze for several seconds, blinking slowly three times.

"Ah. Hajime." Chiaki smiled. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

In the last two weeks or so since coming to the island, Hajime had slowly learnt about his strange and eccentric classmates, even becoming somewhat friends with a few of them. In this case, Chiaki, with her strange sleeping patterns and delayed response time, was one of them.

"Hey, do you know what's going on? I just kind of…woke up like this. Is everyone like this?"

"Mm," Chiaki confirmed. "Everyone seems to have been turned into some kind of animal. I don't really understand the reasoning behind some of the transformations, but everyone seems to have undergone one."

"I see." Hajime muttered.

 _I wonder why she still has her jacket? It's probably Monokuma's weird reasoning. Wait, it was Monokuma, right?_

"Do you think Monokuma did this?" Hajime asked seriously.

"Yeah, I think so. He took responsibility for it early this morning."

Hajime knew there wasn't much else to ask and glanced at the stairs. They did not look fun to climb…

"So everyone is waiting upstairs?" he asked, stalling for time.

"Yeah, everyone should be back now. They went out looking for a couple of people who were missing."

"Missing?" Hajime echoed dumbly.

"Tsumiki and Gundam were both missing. I'm sure they're back now, since I heard everyone else come back."

 _You actually hear things while playing video games? That's a first._ Hajime had the comment on the tip of is tongue but he kept quiet. No point antagonising people for no reason.

"Well I'm going upstairs then. Are you coming Chiaki? Byakyua said he'd catch up."

Chiaki stared at him for a moment, humming, her lithe lavender tails flicking from side to side.

"…Alright." And with that, she sprung on top of his head.

"H-Hey! Chiaki! What are you-!"

"Oh, sorry Hajime. Did I scare you?" Chiaki yawned. "I'm not very good with stairs, and it looked so fluffy up here, I decided to come along this way. That's okay? Right?"

 _If nobody is good with stairs, why are we meeting in one of the few second storey buildings on the island?_

"Y-Yeah, just give me more notice next time…"

Gentle snoring came from above.

 _Did she fall asleep on my head?! How though? And how is she always so calm? Maybe she needs to see a doctor. Or sleep more…_

Hoping that Chiaki was holding on despite her napping, Hajime approached the stairs. He found that he needed two empty stairs between his front foot and his farthest hind foot. Slowly step by wobbly step, he travelled upwards. After what felt like an eternity, (but was really only about 25 steps) he reached the top, blinking in the bright light.

"KYAAAAA! IT'S A MONSTER, COME TO EAT US ALL!" a girly voice screamed.

"AHHHHHH!" another voice, a male one joined in.

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" the voice of a third, angry boy chimed it.

Blinking in the light, Hajime was able to see who the screaming speakers were. The first was a small fluffy spaniel, one with long black fur and a white muzzle. White purple and blue streaks were woven throughout her fur, and several piercing remained on her muzzle.

 _That voice, those colours, that level of volume… That's Ibuki._

The second speaker was… a ferret? Or maybe a badger? Hajime didn't know, but it was hot pink and wore a beanie, so it wasn't hard to guess who it was. Of course it was Kazuichi. It was then that he realised the others were still talking.

"Could it be? The Seventh Circle of Hell has sent the Black Dog of Death to retrieve me? Mwhahaha, fool! You efforts shall be in vain for I, the Overlord of Ice and Darkness shall not fall at the hands of such a weak familiar. Hear me, for I am GUNDAM TANAKA, and as soon as I regain my form, I shall defeat thee, demon!"

 _That…sounds like Gundam. But where is he?_

"Black dog? I have heard of that legend! Has he truly come to reap our souls and take us to hell?" A pale gold fox, about the size of a German Shepard, spoke these words, her fur shimmering and long. She sat, sphinx-like, her blue eyes meeting mine, wide but unwavering.

 _Maybe, that could be Sonia?_

It was then that Hajime noticed a small ball of black fur nestled between Sonia's paws. It was a hamster. But…it didn't look like any of the Dark Devas. In fact, with a white streak and a tiny purple scarf it looked like…

"Gundam?!" Hajime yelped in disbelief.

"The fiend speaks!" The hamster looked shocked, bristling.

"I SAID SHUT UP. Idiots." Off to the said sat a tiger, his fur a deep gold with deep black stripes twisting in complex patterns. A small black tuft of fur sat between his ears. He wasn't that big maybe the size of Sonia, but the menacing aura that radiated off him was unmistakable.

 _I see. That'd be Fuyuhiko._

Behind him sat another fox (why were there so many foxes? There were like four in one room?), this one larger than him and a deep silver colour. Red eyes and a sword bag slung across her back, she watched silently.

 _And of course, there's Peko. But why does she need her sword? She can't use it…_

A small whimper came from his left, and a small purple rabbit with white ears sat curled in a ball shaking.

"Please don't hurt me…"

A tiny mustard coloured fox jumped out of nowhere, landing on the poor creature.

"Shut up, you Easter reject!"

 _Mikan and Saionji, I think._

"IMPRESSIVE BUILD THERE. BUT YOU'RE SLOUCHING. PUSH THOSE SHOULDERS BACK. CHEST OUT. WALK WITH PRIDDDDEEEEE!"

"Oo-hoo, I agree with you there, he does have a rather nice build indeed~"

Hajime automatically straightened in surprise, before turning to the first speaker, and had to remind himself to keep his mouth closed. A massive blue and black lion covered with chains was chuckling in a deep voice.

 _That's Nekomaru for sure. He's huge! I mean he was bigger than me before, but size doesn't seem to translate proportionally, at least if you look at Gundam._

The pig sitting next to the lion had a red scarf and a creepy look in his eye. It sounded like the second, somewhat sexual comment had come from that direction. Hajime decided on his ideity rather quickly.

 _And there's Teruteru. Of course._

 _Who's left?_ Hajime wondered, looking around.

 _Akane, Mahiru and-_

"Ah, Hajime. Glad you could make it." A voice to his right prompted him to turn quickly, almost making him spill the tiny lavender cat sleeping on his head.

"Nagito!"

"Ah, did I scare you? Sorry about that, I suppose someone like me can be easy to miss in such an interesting crowd."

Nagito had started out as one of the few people who had approached Hajime off the bat. They were still friends but sometimes, Nagito's way of speaking and self-depreciation could…get kind of creepy.

"I was just looking for you actually. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now though." Hajime admitted.

"Ah, you don't have to lie to me, Hajime. No way someone like you was looking for me. But I appreciate the thought."

Nagito was the last of the foxes in the room. He was larger than any of the others, and in fact stood at an almost identical height to Hajime. His fur was white and mimicked his normal hair in the slightly off-colour ends and long unruliness. He was fluffy enough that he looked right, proportionally, but Hajime had the feeling he was skinnier than he should have been. Unlike many of the other creatures in the room, he had no accessories.

"And, uh, Hajime, quick question but…is that Chiaki on your head?"

Hajime felt his face heat in embarrassment and hoped his new fur was at least useful for hiding it.

"Yeah, I met her downstairs playing videogames. I asked her if she wanted to come upstairs with me, and she accepted, but then she…well.."

"She jumped on her head, huh?" Nagito let out his trademark chuckle. "Ultimates sure are eccentric, huh?"

"Y-Yeah," Hajime agreed.

"Wait, that's you, Hajime? What are you doing, being so late? As I thought, you're so unreliable."

A small red cat began winding her way through the crowd, and sat haughtily a few meters in front of him.

"You're supposed to be setting a good example! We met up hours ago. Geez, what were you doing anyway?"

"I was sleeping," Hajime replied lamely. It sounded weak even to his own ears.

 _Hang on, why am I in trouble? I was just doing exactly what I was supposed to! And this cat…definitely familiar. I'm going to say this is Mahiru._

"Mfffhfhf! Hey, Hajime! If you don't hurry up, all the grub'll be gone!" A medium, well built brown dog with a small mane of fur and big eyes sat on a chair, inhaling a pile of what looked like bacon. The smell wafted over and Hajime felt his mouth water.

 _I'll grab breakfast in a bit. By the way that dog is inhaling food, and process of elimination…That's definitely Akane._

Despite Fuyuhiko's best efforts, conversation exploded in the room, everyone wanting to talk to him at once. Nagito planted himself next to Hajime, at a distance he felt was maybe a bit too close. Or maybe that's just because fur makes it feel like you're closer…

Eventually, after conversation quieted down, Hajime was able to finally make his way to the breakfast table. He then realised that, with no hands, he was going to have to just take bites off the plate. After pretty much inhaling some bacon (apparently he couldn't chew very well either), he decided that, with Byakuya downstairs, holding meetings in the restaurant was both stupid and annoying. After some conversation with the rest of the Ultimates, they agreed to the move the meeting spot to the old hotel next door. After the rest of the group haphazardly made their way downstairs, Hajime was left upstairs with Chiaki and Nagito. Instead of heading outside straight away, Hajime decided to make his way to the foyer, to tell Byakuya the good news. Except Chiaki was still asleep on his head and frankly, it was getting kind of annoying.

"Hey Nagito, can you do me a favour?"

"Hmm, a favour? Of course!" Nagito responded brightly. Normally, he would raise and hand and smile, but as a fox, he had no hands. And so Hajime found himself staring at a white fox tilting its head and almost kinda squinting. It was actually kind of cute. Definitely too cute for someone like Nagito. Though he supposed it was going to be like that for everyone now.

"Could you please wake Chiaki up? I don't want her to slide off when I'm going down the stairs. I haven't actually done this before.

"Oh? That's right, you just woke up, didn't you Hajime? You haven't had any time to practice yet. Well that's fine. If you could just lower your head a little…"

"Lower my head…?"

"So I can nudge her, of course! I'm not going to yell at her, Hajime. That'd be mean."

"No, well, look, fine." Hajime decided not to try and convince Nagito that he wasn't planning on doing that at all, and lowered his head. Nagito stepped forward, his chest pushed against Hajime's shoulder as he leaned forward. Suddenly, he made a sound of surprise and started chuckling.

"Huh? Nagito, what is it?"

"N-Nothing. Chiaki has just fallen asleep in a rather strange position. It's kind of cute actually."

"Cute?"

"Anyway, give me a moment."

Nagito leaned forward just a little farther ( _Was he doing that on purpose?_ ) and nudged Chiaki with his nose. A couple more pokes and she yawned and shifted.

"Mhmf? What's…going…on?" she mumbled.

"Sorry to disturb you," Nagito laughed. "But I think Hajime wants you to move."

"Move? Hajime?" the cat yawned. "Oh. Right. Sorry Hajime." She stretched and Hajime winced as small sharp claws pricked his forward, before she leapt forward onto the ground.

"Huh? Where's everyone gone?" she asked slowly.

"We're meeting up at the old hotel," Nagito told her.

"I'm going downstairs to tell Byakuya first, though," I added.

"I see," said Chaiki, smiling. "Then I'll meet you at the hotel." With this she turned and strolled out the door.

 _Trouble with stairs my ass…_

Having his own problems with stairs, Hajime eyed the stairwell uncomfortably, before taking a breath and making his own attempt. Nagito claimed he would be too slow if he went first, and asked to go second, to Hajime's annoyance. Having made his way down the step, Hajime stepped off the last step. He was clear. Or at least he thought he was. Farther up the stairwell came a yelp and a white shape came flying down, tackling Hajime to the ground.

 _Owww…What the hell?! Nagito?!_

"Sorry, Hajime. I tripped on a stair on my way down. Bad luck on my part."

"That's great and all, but you're still lying on me…"

Hajime was flat against the ground on his stomach, while Nagito had landed across him. The slim fox looked surprised, if not a little amused for a moment, before sliding off.

"On the bright side, your fur's really soft, Hajime! Who knows, I might've been seriously hurt if I hadn't had such a soft landing."

"Just…be more careful okay?" Hajime groaned as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Have you two quite finished your comedy act?" A clipped voice droned.

Byakuya sat in a similar spot as before, not having made any attempt to climb the stairs. He looked unamused, if slightly flustered for some reason.

 _Maybe we surprised him?_

"We actually came down here to tell you something, Byakuya." Nagito said smoothly. "We've changed the meeting place to the old hotel next door. Everyone was tired of climbing all the stairs."

 _Way to take the spotlight._

"I see." Byakuya huffed. "Well then, I shall be on my way." His tailed moved lazily side to side as he exited the foyer.

 _Not even a thank you._

"That's so Byakuya." Hajime sighed.

"Well, we better make our own way over, Hajime. Else you'll get scolded for being late again."

"But I wasn't-" Hajime protested. Slowly, the two walked side by side out of the foyer after Byakuya, and made their way to the hotel.

 _What do we do now?_ Hajime wondered.


	2. Chapter 2 pt 1

_**Hey all, giving everyone following this a head's up! This is really my first proper fic I ever posted, and honestly, I really didn't think this through. I have a bad habit turning everything I write into angst and even occasionally tragedy, but I didn't know whether or not I wanted to take it in that direction. So, I'll need you, the readers, to give me a heads up on whether you want a bunch of random, fluffy encounters, or a more coherent story with a bit of angst and probs some violence. I will NOT be abandoning this fic just yet, I just need a little bit of help first. Once I yet going, I may even cross post this story onto AO3. I have an account there by the same name with two more stories that I will possibly post here soon. I have a small little excerpt of the next chapter below to keep you interested! Thank you all!**_

Stepping through the entrance of the old wooden building, Hajime sneezed, his eyes almost watering. It was musty, but more than that, it smelled. It smelled like wood, rot and years of abandonment. Suddenly, he found not his nose being assaulted, but his ears too.

"STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY!" a roar thundered loud enough to make the beams of the old hotel tremble.

Exchanging a look with Nagito, Hajime picked up the pace, trotting as fast as possible without landing face first on the rough wooden floor. The group had gathered in the centre dining room, if the open door was any indication. Dust coated the floor, and as the two stepped inside, Hajime spotted cobwebs in every corner, dust covered tables pushed against the back wall and a rather grimy lamp placed in the back corner. Like the rest of the hotel, thick metal plates were bolted across the back wall, presumably where the windows had once been. And in the centre of this grime-filled dining hall, was the odd mix of creatures. And more than anything else, his eye was drawn to the very angry mountain lion on his left. Spluttering and growling, he was attempting to…look at his back?

When he turned around, Hajime understood the reason for the big cat's temper. On Byakuya's back was a small black dog with purple and blue highlights.

What the hell is she doing?! Hajime watched in horror, Nagito in amusement.

"YAHOOOO! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! But really, Byakuya, don't be so mad! Ibuki just wanted to touch your super-itty-bitty adorable ears!"

"YOU INSULT THE TOGAMI FAMILY!" Byakuya roared in reply.

"Awww man…" Ibuki groaned. "Fine." Byakuya froze and the small spaniel scampered down his massive back, before flinging herself at the last moment, flying through the air, her claws skittering as she landed.

"Ibuki, be careful!" cried Sonia fearfully.

"She's right," Nagito added. "It'd be easy to get a claw caught in one of the gaps in the floor and pull it right out if you keep sliding around like that."

"Shut up! That's so creepy…" mumbled Kazuichi, looking increasingly nervous.

Like the many times before, Hajime watched his friends' hijinks with a mixture of shock, confusion and amazement.

Do I really belong here with all these people? They're so-

"Crazy. That's what you were thinking, right? Seriously, playing around at a time like this. Kazuichi, pull yourself together already! You're a man, aren't you? You should be stepping in or something! And Byakuya, be more careful!" A little red cat glided gracefully over to where Hajime was standing, shocked, before sitting down by his paws, her little white tipped tail curling snug around her feet.

"So unreliable," she sighed.

Mahiru…

"That's actually pretty close, yeah. At least no one's panicking, which is pretty good. Though don't you think they're not taking this seriously enough?"

"As usual, you're a worrywart Hajime," Mahiru said, stretching for some reason. "But, then again, you were right about the whole island thing being suspicious, so maybe we shouldn't be so hard on you.

But you 'know, we've had a few hours to get used to this, we even weren't expecting you turn up when you did; we may have even forgotten for a little bit what had happened, so when a giant, black dog kinda appears at the top of the stairs, everyone may have panicked a bit." Mahiru had the humility to look rather sheepish at this, not meeting Hajime's eyes, tailed flicking side to side.

"You forgot? How do you forget something like this?" That explains all the screaming, I guess…

"It was definitely a sight to see, it even looked like Chiaki was floating up the stairs while asleep at first!" Nagito joined it, making Hajime jump. He had forgotten the silver fox had been standing behind him.

"Mhmm, it was actually pretty funny!" Mahiru agreed. "Then of course, the rest of you came up the stairs, and, well, I don't know if you noticed, but you're like, really tall. Actually, forget that, you're huge."

Hajime thought this was actually really funny. "So…I guess I scared everyone because I'm the Big Bad Wolf, hey?"

"H-Hey! Are you making fun of us?!" Mahiru retorted while Nagito simultaneously replied "That's about right."

"Hey!" she turned on him.

"I'm just telling the truth!" He protested. "It doesn't help that you always look so serious, Hajime! I wouldn't be surprised if poor Mikan thought you were going to gobble her up!" he chuckled.

"I suppose it could be worse," he sighed. "A-Anyway, shouldn't we focus? This is a really weird situation."

"I wish you good luck with that, Hajime," Nagito chuckled, and the two observed the chaos unfolding in the dining hall with a mixture of awe and exasperation.


	3. Chapter 2 pt2

**Hey everyone, I'm back! It's been a while since I updated and I'm sorry about that. I was busy creating Summer Day Disease, my first** ** _planned_** **fanfic, I was playing V3 and reacting badly to both chapter 1 and chapter 5 (the FEELS) and I also started what I believed would be a one shot fic between Junko and Naegi, and now, it's, well, not. I'll upload that on FF later though. For now, thank you for the input, and I'm glad everyone seems to like this idea. I'm going to go with a mix of happy fluff (literally) and a more serious storyline that's I've planned for later. There will be hints of Komahinanami (Komaeda, Hinata and Chiaki) because I love the trio so much, but nothing concrete or a plotline related to that. Anyway, I love you guys, and thanks for waiting.**

"Alright, alright, settle down." Byakuya cleared his throat and attempted to pull himself up to his full height. Unfortunately for him, his general shape made him look more like a huggable stuffed toy rather than a intimidating leader, and the action fell flat.

"Oi! Everyone shut up!" Mahiru's voice carried across the dining room, heavy with an energy that demanded respect. One by one, the students quieted. "Hmph. Better." Her tail twitched, pleased, and Hajime suddenly felt very exposed standing next to her. What was he, her bodyguard?

"Look, there's not much we can really do right now," she said simply, before pausing. Fifteen pairs of eyes watched her, ranging from curious and bright to calculating and downright feral. "We haven't lost anyone so far," she reminded everyone. "We just have to do what we did with the last motive; we deal with it like adults, and wait until Monokuma gets bored."

"You want us to wait this out and do nothing?" Fuyuhiko snarled. He was sat on the one of the tables at the very back, leftover from a party they'd had just over a week earlier. His tail hung down beside him, and it twitched in agitation as he talked. Hajime had to supress a shudder; Fuyuhiko was a tiger; a small one, but still one with a mouth full of gleaming fangs, and a pair of golden eyes that seemed to make his primal fears scream. His stripes seemed to twist in a mesmerizing fashion as he leaped from the table, and began to prowl towards them.

"It's logical!" Mahiru insisted. Hajime noticed her fur began to ruffle along her back and her tail.

"It's bullshit!" he hissed. "What's my family gonna say when they see me like this? What if Monokuma gets bored and just gives us a new motive on top of this one? If we don't kill someone, who's to say we'll ever be human again? And you want us to wait it out?!"

"W-Well, what'd the alternative?" Mahiru's voice broke and the small red cat looked as if she would sink into a ball.

"Does it matter? I'm sure as hell not waiting around. Hey, who knows?" Fuyuhiko spun and bared his teeth at the other students, his eyes seeming to almost glow with predatory malice. Some flinched and drew back in fright, while others met his gaze squarely. "Maybe I'll finally set this piece of shit game in motion and get off this goddamn island."

And with that, he strode out the door, leaving only the shuddering sobs of Tsumiki and Kazuichi to fill the air.

"Pfft, he needs some anger management classes, that's for sure. And I mean, have you seen his form? He gets turned into a tiger, and he's still short as hell. Lame-o." Hiyoko purred, untucking her legs from beneath her.

 _Wasn't she cowering in fear just a moment ago too?_

"Well, I have to say I agree with Mahiru on this topic here. There's really not much we can do in this situation. And as your leader, I still stand by my promise to not let a single death occur while I am here, not under my watch."

"Yeah, I mean c'mon, we get a chance to literally be animals. We're gonna have so much fun! I don't even need to use my hands to eat anymore!" Akane piped up, bouncing excitably.

"Ibuki agrees!" the black and white dog piped up. The hot pink and purple streaks in her hair seemed to bounce wildly as she vibrated on the spot. "Ibuki's gonna have so much fun! She's gonna make giant drums and bounce of them, cause now she's small, and she can do that!"

"P-Please be careful!" Tsumiki squeaked. She was huddled off to Hajime's left, curled up against the wall and cowering in fear, her soft, purple fur ruffled and her whiskers twitching in fright.

"I'm not sure you'll be able to make such things without thumbs, Ibuki." Sonia advised, titling her head in a frankly adorable manner. "Although Kazuichi may be able to help you. It would seem that, although he does not have thumbs, he still has hand-like appendages instead of paws like the rest of us."

"M-Miss Sonia!" The purple ferret squeaked, his eyes wide at the betrayal as the energetic dog latched her eyes firmly on his form. Ibuki pounced, snatching him up in a flurry of black and white fur and a rattle of piercing, before bolting through the door.

"Cphm Kzzichui wr gnna hpma blst!" Ibuki mumbled through the fur.

"Miss Soonnniaa!" wailed the mechanic, before his voice faded in the distance.

"What a mad banquet of darkness," Gundham whispered reverently.

"She just…picked him up in her mouth," Hajime commented, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah," Mahiru huffed. "How else are we suppose to carry things? It's not like we have hands anymore."

"I suppose," Hajime agreed awkwardly. _She didn't even hesitate! Then again, she did bite me for no reason back the party…_

Mahiru stared at him for a moment longer, red tail twitched before she sighed. Her eyes seemed to soften just a little and her vice followed suit. "You'll be fine. We've all had a few hours to adjust, so I'm surprised you're having trouble taking everything in. Don't take too long though! You're a man, which means you gotta step up and protect us! Plus, you're one of the strong ones now too, so you gotta take care of all us smaller and weaker animals as well! Got it?"

Hajime nodded numbly, somewhat confused, as the cat stalked away, tail held high in a snobbish manner. Beside him, Nagito chuckled.

"She sure is intense, huh?" he commented. Hajime again just nodded. After Akane and Ibuki's declaration, the room had fallen into comfortable chatter.

"Looks like we're waiting this out again," he observed, turning to the white fox beside him. Nagito made a sound of assent.

"I wonder if that'll work," they wondered listlessly. Hajime felt his eyebrows knit together, but deigned not to answer. He didn't want to push the topic any further; Nagito got weird when he did that.

"Hey, hey." A small voice at his feet called. He looked down and quickly spotted the small lavender cat seated at his paws. "Wanna hang out? We can play the arcade machines in the hotel lobby. You can come too, Nagito, if you want."

"Invited by an Ultimate to play video games? I'm honoured. Only if you're sure someone like me wouldn't ruin the atmosphere."

"If she didn't want you to come, she wouldn't have asked," Hajime reminded Nagito, nudging him with his shoulder. He must have put to much force into the push because the fox swayed for a moment before righting himself. "Man, you're really all just fluff, aren't you?" Hajime mumbled.

"W-What! I don't know what you mean!" Nagito did his best to look affronted and drew himself a little taller. Hajime raised one eyebrow (did he even have those anymore?) and gave the other a quick shove with one paw. They immediately fell over in a heap and Hajime instantaneously lost sight of their head among the billows of wispy fur. The ball seemed to rustle, before two ears eventually popped back and twitched back and forth. Hajime couldn't hold it in anymore. He snorted, which quickly led to a cascade of giggles ending in full on belly laughter. Chiaki followed his lead and giggled beside him as Nagito disentangled himself and attempted to smooth out his unruly locks that insisted on emulating an electrically charged dandelion. He eventually gave up and sighed.

"At least I'm able to entertain you," he lamented dryly. Hajime eventually stifled his laughter and coughed twice.

"Sorry," he apologised, though he couldn't quite keep the snicker out his voice. Agito just harrumphed good naturedly. The three turned to walk out the door, but Hajime hesitated last minute. Gundham and Sonia were talking, Akane and Nekomaru were bickering, Peko had disappeared at some point, Teruteru and Byakuya were talking about food and Mahiru and Hiyoko were talking in a corner. The only person left was Tsumiki, huddled against the wall, her small form shuddering. He turned to Chiaki and Nagito who were staring at him curiously.

"Um, would you guys mind if?" he ventured, darting a glance back the small purple rabbit.

"Ah, Hajime sure is kind," Nagito hummed. "I personally would not mind."

"Me, neither," replied Chiaki. "Plus, equal teams would be nice too, I think."

Hajime relaxed, and hesitated for just a moment, before steeling himself and slowly padding over to where the small bunny sat. Upon noticing his approach, Tsumiki squeaked in fright, and seemed to try and disappear into her fur.

"Um, hey, Tsumiki," Hajime tried. "Chiaki, Nagito and I were going to play some video games. You know, in the lobby. And um, we don't exactly have equal teams, so we were wondering if you'd maybe like to join us?" Slowly, the mound of purple fluff uncurled and a small twitching nose appeared, closely followed by a pair of bright, wet eyes.

"R-Really?" she whimpered. "Y-You'd l-let me play with you?"

"Ah, sure. I mean, why not?" he responded with a half shrug (something he attempted while forgetting that his 'shoulders' were holding him off the ground, almost sending him sprawling).

"I-I'd love to come!" she squeaked happily. Hajime felt a smile twitch his lips at the sight, but it was wiped away quickly as Tsumiki _jumped._ Yet again, he felt another soft weight settle on top of his head and he nearly tumbled at the shock. _What did I do to deserve this?_

"U-Um, s-sorry Hajime! I just r-remembered C-Chiaki sitting up here before and she looked really comfortable and I f-forgot to ask so I-I'm s-sorry if I-I've m-made y-you u-upset, p-p-please f-forgive me!"

"It's…it's fine," he managed. _This is not fine._ "Let's go," he said instead. Slowly he walked back to the others, making sure he didn't tip the ecstatic bunny on his head and ignored the smirk gracing Nagito's face, and pretending like he didn't see Chiaki's puffed up, annoyed expression. _Oh well. This is my life now._


End file.
